Trinity and Beyond; Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy: The History

     The study of nuclear energy began in Germany near the beginning of the 20th century. At the start of World War II, the development of nuclear bombs began in Nazi Germany. Albert Einstein sent a famous letter to the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The letter told FDR that the U.S.A. must begin work on their own weapons of mass destruction. Immediately, great scientists came from far and wide to work on a deadly device. They gathered in New Mexico to combine knowledge on the Los Alamos Project. These gentlemen created a plutonium bomb and a uranium bomb. The first ever nuclear bomb was detonated in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. This bomb was code named Trinity.
     This first detonation would be followed by hundreds of boisterous blasts throughout the 1950's. The U.S. dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This bomb killed thousands of innocent Japanese citizens. As if that was not enough, the Americans dropped a plutonium bomb on the city of Nagasaki. this killed more thousands of Japanese people. More people died from radiation. Japan would surrender to the United States. Following this, the Cold War.
     The Cold War was a series of threats showing off nuclear strength. It was between The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The United States radioactively polluted a chain of islands in the South Pacific. No nuclear warfare happened between the capatalist country and the communist country.

Trinity and Beyond; The Science

     The science behind nuclear bombs is basically atomic fission and fusion.

Nuclear fission is the splitting of the atom. Nuclear fission creates loads of energy which creates boom boom. Nuclear fusion is the bonding of atoms, creating a bigger nucleus. This creates loads energy which creates boom boom.

Sodium Silicate Polymer Lab/Purcell/Block I

Problem: Find the physical properties of a polymer that is made up of sodium silicate and ethyl alcohol.

Hypothesis: The polymer made of sodium silicate and ethyl alcohol will be harder than that of a polymer made of glue and sodium borate.

Materials: sodium silicate (water glass) solution, 12 mL
                 ethyl alcohol, 3 mL
                 2 small beakers
                 stirring rod
                 paper towels
                 Clorox wipes

Procedures: Pour 12 mL of sodium silicate into one of the small beakers. Do not touch the solution with bare skin. Pour 3 mLof ethyl alcohol into the other small beaker. Slowly pour the alcohol in the beaker into the other small beaker with the sodium silicate solution. Stir them together in a circular motion. Roll the polymer into a ball. Bounce the ball. Put the polymer into a Ziploc bag.

Results: The polymer was harder than the polymer made of glue and sodium borate. The ball bounced 15 centimeters in the air.

Conclusion: The polymer made of sodium borate was softer than the sodium silicate polymer, however it bounced as high.

Polymers/Purcell/Block I

Polymers

Problem: Find the change in physical properties of a polymer as a result of cross-linking.

Hypothesis: The changes in the property of the polymer will be determined by the size of the polymer.

Materials: 

500 mL Water

25 mL Elmer's glue

1 tsp. Borax

1 graduated cylinder

1 600 mL Beaker

1 250 mL Beaker

Stirring rod

Procedures:

      Put 100 mL of water into the 600 mL beaker. Next put three teaspoons of Borax into the water and stir. Then pour 25 mL of glue into the 250 mL beaker. Add the Borax solution to the glue and stir.

Once the solution becomes more of a solid, take the solid out. Pour the extra liquid down the drain. Roll the solid into a spherical shape. Next, perform a series of tests. First, describe the polymer(texture, smell). Next, rate the sliminess on a scale of one to five. Then, see what happens when a finger is slowly poking the polymer. Then try it doing it quickly. Next, slowly pull apart the putty. then try doing it quickly. Next, lay the putty down on the table. See how long it takes for the putty to stop flattening. Finally, hold a ruler vertically. Drop the ball of putty onto the table. Record the height of the first bounce.

Add the Borax solution to the glue and stir.         Once the solution becomes more of a solid, take the solid out.



Results:
      On the first test, it was found that the putty was squishy and odorless. The slime rating was two. On the slow poke test, the finger goes in will a little force. The finger does not go in quickly. The slow pull test results in expanding and pulling apart. The putty comes apart easily in the quick pull test. The blob test resulted in 2:06. The bounce test resulted in a fifteen centimeter bounce. The monomers in the glue and the Borax came together to form a polymer.
Conclusion:
     My hypothesis was partly accepted. The Description Test does not rely on the size of the polymer. The Slime Rating does not rely on the size of the polymer. The Slow and Quick Poke Tests did not rely on the size of the polymer. The Slow and Quick Pull Tests partly relied on the size of the polymer. The Blob Test highly relied on the size of the polymer. This is because the time would have been greater if the size of the polymer was greater. Also, the time would have been less if the size of the polymer was less. The Bounce test mostly relied on the spherical nature of the polymer. However, the bounce is measured from the top of the polymer at the highest point. If the putty was smaller, the top of it would not have been as great.


     

Polymers

 

Polymer Basics        Name ___________________________

Use the sites on the Matter & Atoms page of the Kid Zone at http://sciencespot.net/ to complete this worksheet.

Site #1: HandsOn Plastics 

1. Plastics are polymers___________________, which is something made of many ___units____________ similar to a chain. Each

link in the chain is the “___mer___” or basic unit usually made out of ____carbon_________, ____hydrogen________, ___oxygen__________,

and/or _________silicon_____.  To make the chain, many links or units are hooked or _________polymerized____________ together.

2. Many common classes of polymers are composed of ______hydrocarbons_________________, which contain the elements

carbon and hydrogen. List seven elements that are also found in polymers: _____Oxygen_________, _____chlorine_________,

______fluorine________, _______nitrogen_______, ______silicon________, ___phosphorous___________, and ______sulfur________.

3. What is one of the most famous silicon-based polymers? _______Silly Putty________________

4.  What are the general attributes (properties) of polymers?

 A. Polymers can be very resistant to ___chemicals_________________.

 B. Polymers can be both ______thermal___________ and _____electrical____________ insulators.

 C. Polymers are very light in ______mass___________ with varying degrees of _____strength____________.

 D. Polymers can be _______processed__________ in various ways to produce thin fibers or very intricate parts.

5. What percentage of our trash are plastics? _____9.9_____%

6. What does WTE mean? _____waste_______-____to___-___energy________ What are two benefits of WTE? 

 1 – We can use plastics that cannot be ________recycled_____________.

 2 – Incineration of polymers produces ________heat____ _____energy__________. 

Site #2:  History of Plastics

Read the information on this page to help you complete this section. Fill in the blanks with the year it was first

produced and the last name(s) of the person credited with the discovery/development. Use the information to list the

substances with dates from the oldest to the most recent in the box. 

Rayon – Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Silly Putty - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Cellophane - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Parkesine - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Nylon - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Bakelite - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Velcro - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Saran - Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________ 

PVC (Vinyl) – Developed by ____________________________

Polyethylene – Developed in ___________ by _______________ & _______________

Teflon – Discovered in ___________ by ____________________________

Celluoid - Developed in ___________ by ____________________________

Plastics Timeline

Oldest to Most Recent

1_____________________

2_____________________

3_____________________

4_____________________

5_____________________

6_____________________

7_____________________

8_____________________

9_____________________

10____________________

11____________________

Site #3:  Polymers – They’re Everywhere

 Plastics are soft and moldable during their production. The building blocks for making plastics are small organic molecules. They generally come from oil or natural gas but can also come from organic materials such as wood fibers, corn, or banana peels.

Site #4 – Polymer Flash Activities

1. Click the link to make a virtual polymer and choose polyethylene.

 A. What type of monomer is used to make this polymer? ______ethylene molecules______________

 B. What elements and how many of each is in one of these monomers?

  C = _____Carbon_________  # - __4___  H = ______________  # -___1__

 C. What starts the process? _____________________

2. Click the link to try the matching games.  Record your times or scores in the blanks below.

 A. Breakfast Game– 1st Try = _______   2nd Try = _______  3rd Try = _______

B. Polymer Game - – 1st Try = _______   2nd Try = _______  3rd Try = _______

Experiment Watching

     Today, the class witnessed combustion, a form of chemical reaction. We witnessed how ethanol reacts to a flame in the form of combustion. The flame and the ethanol were two reactants. These reactants formed a product. The gas escaped out of the bottle and pushed the other way. This was an example of Newton's Third Law of Motion.
     Then we witnessed and experiment with baking soda and vinegar. The gas was introduced to candles. The candles went out. This was because unlike the other experiment, we were not introducing heat. We were introducing the other reactant. This caused the flame to go out.
     Finally we experimented with chlorine, zinc, and fire.He put chlorine and zinc in a beaker and introduced a flame. The mixture gave of a gas and bubbled. this is because the chlorine was flammable. All of these reactants and products were very interesting.

Freezing and Melting Water

Problem: What are the freezing and melting temperatures of water. What is the relationship between the two temperatures.

Hypothesis: The freezing temperature of water will be 0 degrees Celsius. The melting point of ice will be 7 degrees Celsius. The relationship will be a seven degree difference.
Materials: computer, 400 mL beaker, Vernier computer interface, water, LoggerPro, 10 mL graduated cylinder, Temperature Probe, ice, ring stand, salt, stirring rod, test tube
Results: 

Greatest Discoveries in Chemistry

      The first great discovery in chemistry was the discovery of oxygen. It started with a man named Joseph Priestly challenging the thought that they were only four elements. Those being fire, water, air, and earth. He claimed that air was not an element, but instead made up of multiple things. He conducted an experiment. Priestly heated an orange powder, which changed into mercury. A gas comes off of it. The gas is oxygen, but Priestly does not know that. So on a trip to Paris, he takes his experiment to Antoine Lavoisier. Lavoisier calls the gas oxygen. Together they publish their discovery, and oxygen is born. Lavoisier also publishes a whole list of elements like sulfur and hydrogen. This all starts thoughts on materials used in industry, like steel and plastics. All of that was jumpstarted by the discovery of oxygen.

     The next great discovery was the discovery of atoms. Atoms were discovered by John Dalton in an effort to weigh the elements. Dalton published volumes on atomic weight. He concluded that when a solid is colder, its atoms travel slower, and give off less energy. When a solid is warmer, its atoms travel faster, and give off more energy. This atomic weight in protons was a great discovery. It led to the discovery of molecules. Amadeo Amagadro discovered the different types of molecules. Molecules, the combination of atoms, were a great discovery in chemistry.